Introducing Launch Now and Simplified Rules

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Millions of people from around the world have used Kickstarter to bring ideas to life. More than $1 billion has been pledged to restaurants, board games, documentaries, innovative technology, and much more.

We’re proud to have helped so many great things happen. We’re also constantly challenging ourselves to make Kickstarter even better.

Today we’re excited to announce two important changes that make Kickstarter easier to use than ever before — and improve a couple parts of the system we know haven't always been as simple as they could be.

Launch Now

We want creators to have the support and freedom they need when building their projects. That’s why we’re introducing a feature called Launch Now. It gives creators a simple choice: go ahead and launch your project whenever you’re ready, or get feedback from one of our Community Managers first.

Over the past five years, our Community Managers have offered their expertise to more than 100,000 creators — sharing advice, encouragement, and support to give creators the best chance of success. We love doing it, and we’re always here to help. But we’re pleased to offer creators a simpler process for sharing their projects with the world, and the flexibility to choose how much help they need.

We’re rolling out Launch Now in stages. It’s currently available to 60% of projects, and we’ll be expanding it to more projects in the weeks to come.

Simplified Rules

We’re also introducing dramatically simplified rules for Kickstarter projects. After taking a long hard look at every one of our guidelines, we boiled them down to three basic principles:

These three rules highlight exactly what Kickstarter’s all about: making things, sharing them with others, and being honest with the people helping you do it. To see the rules in full, click here.

Some Common Questions and Answers

Were any rules added?

Nope. No new rules were added.

Were any rules removed?

Yes. Many changes were simple housekeeping — clearing out rules that didn’t feel necessary anymore. Others open Kickstarter up to new kinds of projects, including bath and beauty products and more types of software. And we’re now allowing hardware projects to offer multiple quantities of a reward.

How does Launch Now work?

The feature uses an algorithm incorporating thousands of data points to check whether a project is ready to launch — things like the project’s description, rewards, funding goal, and whether the creator has previously launched a project.

If the project qualifies for Launch Now, the creator can go live whenever they’re ready. If the creator wants to connect with someone at Kickstarter, we’ll review the project and offer our feedback and advice.

If a project doesn’t qualify for Launch Now, the creator will need to share the project with us for a review before it can launch.

If I choose to get feedback on my project, who will I be getting feedback from?

We have an enthusiastic team of Community Managers standing by to help. Each one specializes in one of Kickstarter’s categories — most are actually creators in their fields. They’ll offer tips and guidance, and do their best to set you up for success with your project.

So Kickstarter has actual human beings available to help?

Absolutely! We always have. We’ve dedicated a lot of time, love, and energy over the past five years to supporting creators and their projects. It’s a huge privilege to help people bring their ideas to life. Feel free to get in touch with us!

Anything else I should know?

The health and integrity of the system are our biggest priorities. Our Moderation and Trust & Safety teams are working every day to make sure everyone on Kickstarter is following the rules. And these streamlined rules still expect the same things from projects that we did on day one: make something to share with others, and be honest with the people around you.

We’re always looking for ways we can better serve creators, backers, and the public. That’s why we’re so happy to announce both of these changes — and make it a little simpler for more people, and more diverse ideas, to thrive on Kickstarter.

If you have feedback on today’s changes, we'd love to hear it. You can share your thoughts with us here. Thanks so much for being a part of Kickstarter.